Juniper Blasnik and the Curse of the Big Black Dog
by I Worship Steven Moffat
Summary: This is a little story about a witch named Juniper who leaves her old school and comes to Hogwarts. She meets the Marauders, and adventures ensue. Sorry for the crap summary! Rated T for language, suggestive dialogue, and some violence. *Some romance*
1. The Train

"Juniper, come! You need to get on! Juli will help with your luggage!" My mother yells at me in her heavily accented English.

"Coming," I murmur, looking around at the huge crowd one last time before quickly hugging and kissing her goodbye. "I'll see you in June, Mum. I'll miss you!"

"Have a great year, darling," Mum says, smiling brightly, making her high cheekbones even more pronounced. I grin back and fight through the throng of people onto the train. I paused, sticking my head out the window.

"BYE, MUM!" I yell, waving like mad till the train rounds the corner and she is out of sight. Then I turn and come face-to-face with a boy. He's got sort of long, wavy dark hair and brooding eyes.

"Oi, look where you're going next time, why don't you?" he says rudely.

"I've been standing here! You're the one who needs to look out!" I reply angrily. The boy raises his eyebrows, looking both affronted at my rudeness and slightly impressed.

"What?" I demand. "Don't get that much?" I turn on my heel and stride down the cramped train, searching for my sister. It takes a few minutes for me to realise that the boy is following me. "Go away," I hiss.

"Nah," he says, shoving his hands in his pockets. "I'm heading this way too…ah. Here we are. I believe your sister's already in there…" he opens the compartment door, and Juli hops up.

"June! Hi!" she grabs my heavy trunk and tosses it up into the luggage rack with a grunt. I plop down next to her with a nod at the other four already in the compartment.

"Tight squeeze," murmurs a small, nervous-looking boy.

"I think its cosy," says a skinny boy with glasses and unruly hair, winking at the fiery redhead beside him. She snorts, pushing him away.

"As if, Potter. I'm Lily, Lily Evans," she adds to me, smiling and holding out a hand.

"Juniper Blasnik," I whisper. The long-haired boy snort-laughs, while another, sandy-haired and tired-looking boy looks at him disapprovingly.

"Sirius, knock it off."

Sirius glowers at him for a second. "Fine."

"Seriously…" the boy with glasses whispers, grinning. Sirius whacks him across the head.

"SIRIUS!" bellows Glasses Boy, whacking him in turn.

"Quit it!" I yell. "It doesn't matter! I get laughed at all the time. I don't _care_." I hear Sirius mutter something under his breath and glower at him, but he simply raises an eyebrow and doesn't elaborate.

"Anyway," says Lily, "This is Remus, James, Sirius, obviously—and Peter."

Remus, the sandy-haired boy, smiles. James gives me a cocky grin, and Peter, the nervous-looking boy, smiles—well—nervously.

"And you know me, obviously," adds Juli. I jump—I'd almost forgotten that my older sister was there. "So! How've your summers been?"

"All right," answers Remus, shrugging. "Nothing really happens at my house."

"Yeah, except at full-"

"SIRIUS!" hisses James, jerking his head from side to side. I look at them curiously before Peter hastily fills the silence.

"Well, I spent most of my summer reading. Professor McGonagall told me that I needed to keep my average up. I've always been all right on Charms, but that's about it. I hope I'll be better this year," he says anxiously.

"Nah, you'll be fine," says James confidently. "I flew around my backyard, mostly. I got Dad to bewitch some rocks to fly around, in place of the Snitch, y'know…how was your summer, Sirius?"

"Awful," says the long-haired boy glumly. "Mum kept shrieking 'bout how much shame I was bringing on the family, not being in Slytherin. Dad didn't say much, but he's kind of timid next to her anyway."

"I kind of avoided Petunia," murmurs Lily. "She kept coming up behind me, telling me off for being there. Asked why I was home if I was so special…she doesn't really understand why it was me and not her, I suppose."

It's a moment before anyone says something else. Then, in a cheery voice, James announces, "Hey, the lunch trolley's here! I haven't got a ton of money with me, so cough up…We'll have the lot," he adds to the plump, smiling woman.

"All right, one of each?"

"Nah, 'bout six of each. I reckon we've all got enough." James holds out his hand for money, and Juli and I quickly put in a few Sickles and Knuts. Lily adds three Sickles, Remus tosses in a few Knuts, Peter counts out fifteen Sickles exactly before adding them, and Sirius throws in a few gold Galleons. Shoving a fist in his jeans, James comes up with five Galleons, seven silver Sickles, and three bronze Knuts, adding to the total.

"Thanks, dears." the woman passes out our feast of junk food, still smiling warmly.

"Right, divvy it up round us," says Lily, passing me a Pumpkin Pasty. I take a hesitant bite, my eyes widening.

"Good, isn't it?" Remus says, smiling. I nod eagerly, devouring the rest.

"Haven't you had this stuff before? I mean, what year are you?" asks Sirius rudely.

"Third," I whisper.

"Surely we'd have known you by now. And if you're third year, you should have already had this stuff." I bristle at Sirius' remark.

"I never said I was third year _here_," I hiss angrily. "And keep your nose out of my business."

Looking surprised, Sirius raises his hands in surrender.

"She got you, Sirius!" chortles James, high-fiving me. I give a rueful smile, my anger having evaporated.

We chatter on for a couple of hours before Lily notices the darkening sky. "Oi!" she yells, breaking up my and James' Exploding Snap game. "We've got to change into our robes, we'll be there soon."

Soon after, the train screeches to a stop and we all stand, taking our things out with us, into the corridor. We join the crowd of people all getting off the huge train, and eventually climb off, relatively unscathed.

James, who is in the front, beckons us over to a carriage. I see a beautiful skeletal horse pulling it, but do not comment, because I know what it is.

"Can anyone else see the Thestrals…?" I murmur to Lily. She smiles and nods.

"I can, and Remus. Beautiful, aren't they?" I nod, suddenly grateful for Lily. I'm not sure why. Maybe it's her confident but sweet demeanour. She's very…welcoming. At my old school, I was mocked a lot. I suppose that all I can hope for is that the students here are at least a trifle more welcoming.

"What's the matter?" asks Remus, looking at me with sympathy. "Nervous?"

I giggle. "That obvious, eh? Well…yeah. I am pretty nervous. It's just that all the people at my old school were, for lack of a better word, crazy prats who only cared about themselves."

Remus laughs. "Well, here, you've only got the Slytherins to worry about. Especially Narcissa and Bellatrix Black…oh and Lucius Malfoy. S'long as you steer clear of them, you should be just fine."

"Black?" I ask, with a glance at Sirius.

"His cousins," Remus murmurs in a low voice. "He's—er—not exactly _fond_ of them, to say the least."

"Ah. Blimey, this place is _huge_!" I say, looking up in awe.

"Eh, you get used to it," says James airily, laughing when I look at him with a look of disbelief.

"I'll help you navigate," says Lily, smiling warmly. Although I don't think she's stopped smiling once.

Bit odd.

Bit creepy.

Bit—"ARRRGH!" I yell as a torrent of water splashes down on me.

"Peeves!" exclaims Lily indignantly, looking up. I follow her example, and am surprised to see a poltergeist cackling at us. I whip out my wand and swear at him until he flies away, still cackling gleefully.

"What a warm welcome," I mutter, shivering. "Have any of you lot learnt how to get this water off?"

Remus shakes his head. "We haven't covered that yet, but you can probably ask McGonagall, or one of the prefects."

"I'm f-f-freezing," I say, teeth chattering.

"Let's get inside the Great Hall, then, it's much warmer," replies Lily sympathetically, leading me past a gaggle of older girls, most of which who fawn at Sirius and James as we pass.

Sirius pauses, winking at one who looks like she's about to faint. "Come on, Sirius!" yells James impatiently. "I'm _starved_!" Sirius grudgingly slouches after us into the Great Hall, where the long House tables are filling up rapidly.

"Over here," says Lily, leading us over to a fairly empty spot at the Gryffindor table.

"Oh, I hope Dumbledore hurries up, I'm starving…" James moans, clutching his stomach. I giggle at his dramatic performance, and Sirius stares at me, his expression unreadable.

"What?" I demand, self-consciously patting my still-soaked curls.

"Nothing…" he looks away and starts up a conversation with James. I look at Lily with a shrug, and we all turn towards the long table reserved for teachers as first years file in, looking terrified. I smile reassuringly at a small girl, who returns it half-heartedly before her friend grabs her sleeve and she turns away.

We all wait as Professor McGonagall sets down a shabby old hat.

"What _is_ that?" I whisper to Lily.

"That's the Sorting Hat. Ooh, I wonder what the song will be this year!"

I stare at her in astonishment. A singing hat? This place just gets weirder and weirder.


	2. New Kid in School

**A/N: Thanks for making it this far! I know the first chapter was crap, but once I'm done re-editing it, I might re-upload it. Hope you enjoy Chapter 2! Also, thanks to Ruby-Elwood and TheMagnificentMoony for reviewing!**

"_June! Come quick, your letter is here!" I follow Juli into our small kitchen. Sure enough, a handsome screech owl sits on the table, a letter attached to its leg. I open it._

"'_Dear Ms. Blasnik, we are please to inform you that you have been accepted at Beauxbatons School of Magic. Please find enclosed a list of all necessary books and equipment. Term begins on September 1. We await your owl by no later that July 31. Yours sincerely, Olympe Maxime.'"_

"_Oh, darling! This is wonderful!" my mother runs to hug me. I frown, staring at the parchment._

"_Juli, weren't you accepted at Hogwarts?"_

_Juli flushes slightly. "Er…yes. Perhaps you are too advanced to go there?" but she turns away, and I know she is hiding something._

"_Well, darling, let me see your booklist! We've got to get your school things," says Mum in a falsely cheery voice. I nod, still frowning down at the heavy paper._

"Juniper! Wake up! We've got to go to breakfast!" says Lily, shaking me roughly. I mumble incoherently, trying to ignore the bright sun shining through my eyelids.

"June," she says sternly, "come _on_. You don't to miss the first day back at school, do you?"

I sigh and roll out of bed. "I s'pose not," I mutter, yawning and stretching my arms above my head, my fingers brushing the hangings around my four-poster.

"Right then, get dressed. Once we get downstairs, we'll get our schedules. Now I think about it, though, how come you haven't been Sorted?" asks Lily curiously. I flush.

"Er. Well, Professor Dumbledore told me that he wanted to spare me any embarrassment at being the only third-year getting Sorted yesterday, so he came to my house around July and I was Sorted there. Why?"

"Just curious. Bit odd; I've never heard of that happening before…" Lily's voice trails off, and I get a familiar sinking feeling in my stomach. My past. She wants to know my past.

"Well, I suppose my grades were all right at Beauxbatons…maybe that's why," I say evasively.

"Beauxbatons? The French school? How was it? Sounds cool, I've always been interested in other wizarding schools!"

"It was all right, but the students were a bit...snotty. Most of them are from rich pureblood wizarding families, so they weren't exactly the nicest people."

"Oh, I'm sorry," says Lily, sounding a little disappointed. "Well, obviously they were just prats, weren't they? You wait until you meet Alice, and everyone else! They'll love you!"

I smile faintly, pulling on my shoes and pocketing my wand. Lily jumps up. "Right, you ready? Let's go, then! Unfortunately, it'll take a little bit to get down to the Great Hall. Oh, well. More time to talk. Everyone else has already gone downstairs, so let's try and hurry."

I follow Lily down the dormitory stairs and out of the portrait hole, peering around as I go. There are only a few stragglers still in the common room; most of Gryffindor is down in the Great Hall, eating breakfast and catching up with friends.

"Oh, be careful," warns Lily, "some of the staircases have trick steps. All right, down this way…" we jostle past some gossiping sixth-year Ravenclaws, who raise an eyebrow at me and turn away.

"Don't mind them! They're just sore because our Quidditch team is better than theirs," says Lily in a stage-whisper. The girls glare openly at her, and she winks before skipping quickly down the staircase. I follow at a trot, my shoes clattering loudly against the stone. Every so often, Lily looks back to see check that I am still behind her. All of a sudden, at the end of yet another staircase, she screeches to a halt. I stumble, flying into her. A group of passing Slytherins laugh unkindly, pointing at us.

"Oh, go talk to your snake pals," Lily calls after them, "or whatever it is you idiots do all day," she adds in an undertone. I giggle, helping her up and dusting us both off.

"There, good as new," I say, satisfied. She grins, and we march into the Great Hall without further incidents. When we reach the Gryffindor table, James jumps up, calling, "Oi! Over here!"

Lily rolls her eyes and we sit next to them. "Hi, Alice!"

A pale, round-faced girl turns toward us. "Oh, it's you, Lily. Hi, what took you so long?"

Lily gestures to me, and I blush. "Er. I'm Juniper. Hi…" I hold out a hand, and Alice shakes it.

"Alice! Are you the new girl, then? Nice to meet you." she smiles warmly and I gladly return it, loading my plate with bacon, kippers, eggs, and toast. I squirt ketchup on my eggs and dig in hungrily, listening to the various conversations around me.

"—who cares if she likes you, Sirius? We've got Quidditch practice on Saturday-"

"—you'll do fine, Peter, as long as you _study-_"

"—I'd better keep up my average in Transfiguration and Potions, Professors Slughorn and McGonagall said I've been keeping an Exceeds Expectations-"

"June, look! McGonagall's coming, to give us our schedules!" Lily nudges me, and I look up, taking a swig of pumpkin juice. Sure enough, a severe-looking woman with dark hair and tartan robes is coming down the long Gryffindor table, handing schedules to various students.

"I think I'm going to start Ancient Runes this year," muses Lily thoughtfully. "It's a really useful subject."

"I might do that, too. It certainly sounds interesting. It would probably be wonderful for breaking codes, wouldn't it?"

"Oh, yes, I suppose so. I hadn't thought of that!" says Lily, smiling at me. Professor McGonagall reaches us.

"Good morning, Professor," I say politely.

"Good morning, Ms. Blasnik. Now, are you familiar with the subjects and coursework?"

"Yes. Would it be possible for me to take Ancient Runes as well?"

"That can be arranged." Professor McGonagall's voice is crisp and stern, but she gives me a small smile. "So, Defence Against the Dark Arts, Transfiguration, Charms, Herbology, Ancient Runes, Potions, Care of Magical Creatures, and—_Divination_?"

Lily suppresses a giggle at the obvious emphasis upon the last word—Professor McGonagall's voice displays disapproval.

"Actually, Professor, I was hoping to not do Divination. Am I allowed to just take Ancient Runes instead? It's just—I don't honestly see the need." I look at her hopefully, and she nods.

"That will be possible. Here-" she taps a piece of parchment and hands it to me "—your new schedule. Now, Ms. Evans," Professor McGonagall adds, turning to Lily, who looks up expectantly.

I scan my schedule quickly. "Right, I've got Potions first thing," I mutter. "I'm going to go get my bag and go to Potions," I call to Lily, dashing out of the Great Hall. I go up the stone stairs at a sprint, ignoring some Slytherins whispering behind their hands about me. I reach the Fat Lady and stop abruptly, wheezing, a horrible stitch in my side.

"Nunc aut nunquam," I pant, and she smiles, opening the entrance to the Gryffindor common room. I run in, dash up the stairs leading to the girl's dormitories, grab my bag full of books, quills, and ink, and run right back out.

"Excuse me; do you know where the Potions classroom is?" I ask a fellow Gryffindor, breathing heavily.

"Yes, it's down in the dungeons. Do you need help finding it?" she says kindly.

"Probably. You see, I'm new here, and-"

"No worries, I'll help you. I'll meet you at Charms, Olivia," she adds to her friend, who nods. "Okay, it's down this way. What's your name, by the way? I'm Vivian."

"Juniper," I say as we go down another flight of steps, into a darker corridor.

"Oh, that girl from Beauxbatons! Nice to meet you. Okay, you can find it from here. Just turn right up there. It's the door at the end. Well, bye!" Vivian dashes off to Charms, and I follow her remaining directions. There are a lot of people crowded outside, chatting idly.

"June! Hi!" I turn. Remus is fighting his way towards me, trailed by a very put-out looking Sirius.

"Oh, hi, Remus, Sirius. How are you?" I must look relieved to see familiar faces, because Sirius smirks.

"Oh, good. Professor Slughorn's just a bit late. Likes to, ah, _savour_ breakfast. He should be here any second." Remus' eyes twinkle as he smiles warmly at me. I return it, winking.

Sirius pretends to retch loudly, making several girls turn and stare at him. Remus and I, however, look reproachfully and continue our conversation. "Welcome to Gryffindor," laughs Remus. I giggle.

"Is he…always like this?"

"Depends. Either this, or he's sneaking off to snog some girl in between classes. Either way, though, he makes the same sound." our talking is cut off as a large man comes waddling around the corner.

"Sorry I'm tardy. Into the classroom, everyone—you too, Mr. Black!" he booms genially. I follow Remus and Sirius into the large classroom, marvelling at Professor Slughorn's massive moustache.

"All right! Now, since it's only our first day back, let's start with something easy today…"

"How was Potions?" whispers Lily, when I meet her at Transfiguration later.

"Really interesting. I made a Wit-Sharpening Potion that Professor Slughorn thought was something special. I don't think Sirius was too pleased, though. I saw him glowering at me when me and Remus left together. What did you have?"

"Charms. Good for you; Sirius is just sore that everybody likes you. Come on, Professor McGonagall is here." We hurry into the classroom, finding seats near the back.

"Good morning, class," says Professor McGonagall, striding in. Immediately, silence falls and whispered conversations end.

"Today, we will be learning how to turn rabbits into slippers. Ms. Evans, could you please give everyone rabbits?"

Lily leaps up, bounds to the front of the room, and takes the large square box from Professor McGonagall's arms. She passes sleek white rabbits to everyone, finally giving herself and I the remaining ones and sitting down.

"Wingardium Leviosa!" she says, pointing her wand at the box. It floats over to Professor McGonagall, who grabs it.

"Please refrain from using spells that do not apply to the class, Ms. Evans."

"Yes, Professor," says Lily meekly, but she winks at me and I grin.

"All right. Now, the incantation…"

"LUNCH!" yells Lily, breaking into a run. I walk behind her, snickering with Alice. Lily's arms are waving madly as she sprints in the direction of the Great Hall.

"Er, is she always this hungry?" I murmur to Alice, though I'm grinning.

"Basically, yeah. You get used to it, though. But somehow, even when she acts like that, she _still_ manages to get all of the guys," Alice whispers back. I catch her stealing a glance at Frank Longbottom, and I nudge her.

"In love, are we?" I tease. Alice flushes bright red. I laugh and hug her. "Just kidding. But I think he likes you, too…" my voice trails off. I give her one last meaningful look before trotting after Lily.

"OI! EVANS! WAIT UP!" I bellow. She stops running immediately and stands there, hands on hips, waiting for me and panting.

"It's…I'm…hungry…food…in…there…" she wheezes, pointing to the huge doorway of the Great Hall.

"Lily, calm down. Breathe. The food isn't going anywhere. Now we are going to walk—_WALK_—in there. We are going to sit down. And then we will eat. Come on. Alice!" I call over my shoulder. "Could you help me with this idiot?"

Lily whacks my shoulder reproachfully, but doesn't protest as Alice hurries over and we help her walk into the Hall. It's fairly crowded already, but we find seats on one of the Gryffindor benches. I load my plate up with mashed potatoes, collard greens, and corned beef, and I pour myself some pumpkin juice.

I scarf my lunch down, already started on my Defence Against the Dark Arts essay on Dementors.

"How can you be doing _school_?" asks James incredulously, sitting down next to us. He is followed by Peter, Sirius, and Remus, who smiles.

"I like to stay on top of my work. How can you _not_ be doing school? And besides, this way I have more time with my friends. Now, hush up a moment, I've got to finish this paragraph…" I cross a 't' and scribble a few more words before shoving my stuff back into my bag.

"So, how was everyone's morning?" asks James, shoving a forkful of steak-and-kidney pie into his mouth.

"Uneventful," says Lily.

"Well, then. That certainly sums _that _up!" James looks affronted for about a second, and then his face relaxes into an easy grin. Remus rolls his eyes at me, and I stifle a laugh with my napkin, pretending to cough. Sirius glowers moodily at me. I wipe my mouth with a napkin primly, standing up. "Sirius, can I please talk to you?" I ask pointedly. He shrugs coolly, and I glare at him.

"_Now._"

He grumbles angrily, but gets up. I lead him out of the Great Hall and around a corner and stand there waiting, arms crossed. He slouches out, looking both ways before he sees me. "What do you want?" he mumbles.

"What is your problem?" I ask, struggling to keep my voice under control. "What the _hell_ is so obviously pissing you off about me?"

He looks up, eyes narrowed to slits. "Nothing." The word is drawn out, and he says it condescendingly.

"Don't be such a child," I snap. "Either you spit it out, or I'll tell all of them about how much of a _prat_ you're being. Which is it?"

"I'm _pissed_ because those are my friends. Not yours. _Mine_!" hisses Sirius furiously. "And don't even _think_ about telling me what to do,_ 'Juniper'_! You're just a stupid, ignorant little girl who thinks she's something special."

"Let's get something straight, once and for all," I say, dangerously close to shouting. "I'm here to stay. This is my school now, too. Get used to it. You want me to go? I get it. But I don't give a shit. I'm not leaving. Not for you, not for anyone. So either you get the HELL over yourself, or I'll hex you into next term. Got it?" I stalk back into the Great Hall and grab my bag. Lily and Alice immediately jump up to join me, looking worried.

Sirius is still right where he was, and I flip him off as we pass. Lily stifles a laugh, but asks me what happened when we are out of earshot.

"Well, I asked him what his problem was, cos he's been a complete prat, glowering at me every second he gets. Then he said it was nothing, and I told him to tell me, and he started going off about how I'm a stupid little girl who thinks she's something special. Oh, and he also said that all of you are his friends, not mine. So then I told him that this is my school now, too, and to get over himself."

They look amazed. Alice's mouth actually falls open in disbelief. "What happened after that?" she gasps.

"Well, I came back. I'd said what I needed to," I reply, amused at the expressions of shock etched upon their faces.

"_Wow_!" says Alice. "_Wow_!"

"What's so impressive about that?" I ask.

"Well, it's just that most girls are in love with Sirius. They look to him as some sort of god. It's kind of disgusting, really. You're basically the first girl—besides us, of course—to tell him off like that," says Lily knowingly, clapping me on the back. I roll my eyes but grin.

"Right, what've you got next?" I ask them, checking my schedule. "I'm Herbology."

"….Potions," murmurs Alice. "Oh, I've got it with a bunch of Slytherins!" she stamps her foot, looking upset.

"I've got DADA," announces Lily. "See you all at dinner!" she hurries off. I hug Alice and set off in the opposite direction.

"Er, June?" calls Alice. I turn and raise my eyebrows questioningly. "The greenhouses are that way." I grin, give her a thumbs-up, and race off in the direction she was pointing.

"Right!" says Professor Sprout. "Today, we will be dealing with Puffapods! Get your protective gloves on for precaution, and begin!"

I look with slight fear at the plants, pulling on my dragonskin protective gloves. A boy next to me whispers, "It's not so bad. We wouldn't be here if they were lethal."

I stifle a grin, glancing sideways at him. It's Remus! He winks at me, which is kind of startling. I'm used to him being sweet, but quiet. Then again, I haven't exactly known him for very long.

"How're you? You're lo-"He doesn't get the word out, because a severe-looking girl next to him looks sharply our way.

"Shut it! We're trying to work here!" she whispers angrily. Remus gives me a small smile, which I return, though I turn away so he doesn't see it. I let the small smile spread out until it is a full-blown grin as I get to work taking the beans off of the Puffapod plant.

Hmm…

**A/N: Small, tiny, miniscule cliffhanger(; Hope everyone likes it so far...I know it's not a LOT longer than the last chapter, but I really hope you liked this anyway. Sorry it took so long-I've been quite busy. I'll try to get Chapter Three done in the next week, but unfortunately, no promises. Do we like the relationships? Please review! Love you all!**

**~K**


	3. One Month Later

"So, June," says James one morning about a month after I arrived. "I've been thinking…"

"No, Potter, for the LAST TIME, I will _not_ go out with you," I reply, imitating Lily. Everyone laughs. James rolls his eyes.

"_Any_way, I've been thinking that you should try out for the Quidditch team. Tryouts keep getting postponed, but they're definitely this Saturday, around breakfast. What do you say?"

"Well, I dunno. I've never flown a lot before. Would it be possible for me to practice until then?"

"Sure!" says James bracingly, throwing an arm over my shoulder. "Between you, me, and Sirius, we'll have the best team in Hogwarts!" Over his shoulder I see Sirius grinning broadly at me. After about a week of cold ignorance towards me, he has loosened up. Now he is acting as though he has always been my friend. It's considerably better, though, so I try not to be so startled when he grins at me like this.

"How's after dinner?" I ask James.

"Well, I'm free then. I'm yours; what about you, mate?" He turns toward Sirius, who nods. "Right. About 6:30 or 7, d'you think?"

"Sure, that sounds good," I agree, digging into my sausage. Peter and James get up a moment later, heading off to an early Transfiguration lesson. I feel eyes on me as I eat and look up. I catch Lily quickly staring back down at her Charms textbook.

"What's up?" I ask curiously.

"Oh, nothing!" Lily says in an unusually high voice. She smiles unconvincingly. "Well, I'm off. I've got to get to class. I, er, I'll see you later…" her voice trails off and she jumps up and races away.

I stare questioningly after her and turn to Alice. "What just happened…?" I ask.

"Dunno. Shouldn't you get down to the dungeons?"

I check my watch and yelp. "Damn, class starts in five minutes! I've got to go. See you later, Alice!" I hug her and run out of the Great Hall, swinging my bag over my shoulder. I pass several other Gryffindors, who call greetings to me, and Slytherins, who hiss as I run past them. I wave to the Gryffindors and ignore the Slytherins, taking the stairs down to the dungeons two at a time.

I arrive two minutes later, panting and out of breath. Remus and Sirius greet me. "Is Slughorn late _again_?" I ask.

"Nah, but he told us not to come in yet. Ah, here he is," replies Remus. Indeed, the enormous figure of Professor Slughorn shadows the doorway.

"All right, come on in," he booms, standing back. We squeeze past him, and he gives me a warm smile. "Good morning, class!" he says loudly and genially, once everyone has filed into the classroom and he is at the front once more.

"Good morning, Professor Slughorn," we chorus back to him, our voices mingling.

"Right! Let's do something…fun, shall we? Today, we will be making a Beautification Potion. And ladies, let's not steal any, eh?" he winks at us 'ladies'. I normally like Slughorn, but this is going too far. I roll my eyes.

"Like I'd steal that," I mutter to myself. Sirius looks over at me and waggles his eyebrows. I flip him off under the table and turn the pages in my book.

"Right. Rat spleen…lovely." I run my finger down the list of ingredients, muttering to myself. Finally, I light the fire beneath my cauldron and get to work. Beside me, I see and smell Sirius' lumpy concoction. I hold my breath and continue, stirring three times clockwise and twice counter-clockwise.

"What's that supposed to be?" I mutter out of the corner of my mouth. Sirius slaps at me, but I dodge, still stirring. I add some snake fangs and a rat spleen, stirring feverishly. At the hour mark, Slughorn claps loudly.

"Time's UP!" he calls, weaving his way throughout the classroom, inspecting people's cauldrons. He, too, plugs his nose as he looks into Sirius' cauldron, and I smirk at the long-haired boy. He pulls a face around Slughorn's massive stomach, and I take deep breaths to refrain from laughing.

"Very nice, Mr. Lupin," Slughorn is saying genially to Remus. "Well done." and then he turns to me. "Let's see what we've got here! Ah…hmm…" he sniffs deeply, then smiles. "Very good, Miss Blasnik! This is very good indeed! See the colour, everyone?"

I smile at my hands while everyone crowds around Slughorn and my cauldron. Remus shakes my hand. "Well done," he says, a smile on his face and a friendly twinkle in his eye.

"Thanks," I whisper back. Sirius holds out a hand, looking very solemn. I glance from it to his face with a raised eyebrow, and then take it gingerly.

"Very good, very good," he drawls in an over-pronounced accent. It comes out sounding something like "Vurry goo, vurry goo."

"You have issues, Black," I say as we exit the classroom a few minutes later. Sirius' face deepens into a small scowl.

"Please not the surname," he mutters. I grin, turning to Remus.

"Remus, did Black say something?"

"Nope, I reckon he didn't. Oi, Black, did you say something?" Remus' mouth widens in a grin to match mine.

"Black? Blaaaack? BLACK!" I say, my voice growing louder. Finally, Sirius' hand clamps over my mouth. I lick his palm and he quickly removes it, looking revolted.

"That's disgusting," he says, wiping his hand on his robes. I stick my tongue out at him, and Remus howls with laughter.

"Anyway," I say when I have stopped giggling, "we'd best get to DADA. Or at least, I've got to go."

"Right, James'll be there with you. See you later!" Remus says. I give him a quick hug, and stand solemnly, holding my hand out for Sirius to shake. He rolls his eyes and shakes my hand. I wink as I run off, digging in my bag to check that my Defence Against the Dark Arts book is still in it.

"Oi, Potter!" I call as I get near the classroom. He turns round and waves at me, his usual cocky grin in place. A gaggle of girls nearby turn too and giggle, falling about themselves. I stare at them as I approach James.

"What are they _doing_?" I mutter in an undertone. He shrugs, but runs his hand through his messy black hair anyway, grinning at the girls. They giggle harder, whispering furiously. I smack his hand.

"God, James, you look like an idiot," I say, going into the classroom and taking my seat. He sticks his tongue out as he passes me, winking all the same. I roll my eyes, taking my book, quill, and parchment out of my bag.

x

"WHERE'S MY BAG!"

I jump. Lily is storming down the stairs off the girls' dormitories, looking furious. I put my quill down, rubbing my eyes wearily.

"Haven't got a clue," I yawn. "Maybe you left it in the Great Hall at dinner." This, apparently, was the wrong thing to say.

"Oh God, somebody's gone and stolen it! I've got all my school books and quills and parchment in that bag! Oh, no!" She sits down dejectedly. We hear someone sniggering across the room. Lily stands immediately, stomping over to the person.

"Sirius…" she growls in a low voice. I quickly grab my essay and start scribbling frantically, all tiredness forgotten. _Well, this won't be pretty,_ I think to myself.

"WHAT DO YOU _MEAN_, YOU LOST IT!" Lily bellows at Sirius. I jump about a foot in the air, tipping over my inkwell.

"Oh, CRAP!" I say, blotting it. "_Tergeo_! _TERGEO_!" I siphon off the spilled ink with my wand, cursing under my breath. I continue my essay, glaring at the Lily and Sirius, who are screaming at each other. The whole common room is staring at them.

"WHERE IS IT, YOU TROLL!" Lily yells, jabbing her finger into his chest.

"I've already told you! I DON'T KNOW." Unlike Lily, Sirius is looking quite calm.

"Does this…usually happen?" I whisper to a fifth-year sitting next to me. She looks up, her eyes bleary from staring at her book.

"What? Oh, yeah. They can't go a minute without having a yelling match. Eventually, it just kind of fades into the background noise. We're all just kind of used to it by now." The girl smiles vaguely and goes back to her book, making notes with her quill. I listen to the row going on behind me and wonder if I'll ever be able to ignore it.

I work fairly steadily for about a quarter of an hour before the loudest thing yet comes out.

"HONESTLY, BLACK, YOU ACT AS IF PEOPLE LIKE YOU!" screams Lily, tears streaming down her red face. I don't mean this rudely, but it's exact shade as her hair. It's kind of disconcerting. "I MEAN, COME ON! ALL YOU ARE IS A SLIMY GIT WHO DOESN'T KNOW WHEN TO STOP! WHAT'S THE _MATTER_ WITH YOU!"

I stand up, and I'm pretty sure steam is coming out my ears as I march mechanically over to them. I stare menacingly at the pair of them, who stop shouting long enough to look at me strangely.

I take a deep, calming breath, and scream, "SHUT THE HELL UP, BOTH OF YOU! NOBODY GIVES A RAT'S ARSE! IF YOU'RE GOING TO TRY AND TAKE THE MICKEY OUT OF EACH OTHER, DO IT SOMEWHERE WE HAVEN'T GOT TO LISTEN TO YOU IDIOTS SCREAMING! I'VE BEEN TRYING TO WORK ON MY ESSAY FOR MCGONAGALL! IF I DON'T FINISH IT, IT'S _YOUR_ FAULT! IF SHE GIVES ME DETENTION, IT'S _YOUR_ FAULT! SO SHUT UP BEFORE I HEX THE PAIR OF YOU INTO NEXT YEAR! GOT IT!" I grab my things and storm up the steps to my dormitory, leaving a ringing silence behind me.

About ten minutes later, I have calmed down slightly and am sitting in bed, already in my pyjamas, reading _Hogwarts, a History_. Lily comes into the room, looking ashamed. "Look, June…" she says in a small voice. I look at her, my expression chilly.

"What?" I say hoarsely.

"I'm…well, I'm sorry. I know it's a bit of a pain watching your friends having a row. Sirius said he's sorry too. It's just that…that's how we communicate, y'know? We shout at each other. Sorry for being so loud. Anyway, Sirius gave me back my bag. He told me that James wanted to see my stuff. I dunno why, but I really am sorry for causing a scene." Lily says all of this very fast. I give her a small smile and sit up, patting my bed. She quickly jumps on, sitting cross-legged.

"S'okay," I say. "I'm used to my brothers fighting." I suddenly realise that my eyes are welling up with tears at the thought of home. Embarrassed, I stare at a scratch in the wall. I squint at it, making out the words Kat was here! Love you Gryffindor! I point it out to Lily, who runs over and examines it closely.

"Cool! Let's do our names. Maybe when we're famous, we'll sell bits of the wall and make a fortune."

I laugh at this, but open up my trunk anyway. Lily shrieks when I whip out a knife, and then doubles over, giggling. "I meant with my wand," she gasps. "You scared me! I thought you were gonna kill me!"

"You're a nutter," I inform her, stepping gingerly over her outstretched leg. I grit my teeth carefully carving my name into the stone. It doesn't work, only succeeding in making my knife go blunt and getting dust everywhere.

"Oh, move over!" Lily says teasingly, taking out her wand. She mutters a spell and spells stuff in mid-air. I glance at the wall, then double-take. Words are carving themselves into the stone. _I, Lily Potter, solemnly swear to be Juniper Gwyneth Blasnik's best mate until the day I die._ I beam at her. "What's that spell, then?"

"Scribun Cariarvti," she says. I repeat the words, pointing my wand at the stone, right under her message. I, Juniper Gwyneth Blasnik, promise to be Lily Potter's best mate until the day I die. I also would like to say that Sirius Black is a big fat git who deserves to die. Don't go near him, girls. Lily laughs when she sees the last bit.

"Let's not tell 'em 'bout that bit, eh?" she says, giggling. I roll my eyes, but nod anyway. "You, er, you ready to go back down? Fancy going down to the kitchens to get a bit of grub?"

"How do we get into the kitchens?" I ask curiously. "I thought that wasn't allowed?"

Lily looks at me. "Just because it's not allowed doesn't mean we don't go," she says, a bit exasperatedly. I sigh.

"Fine. Let's go to the stupid kitchens, then!" I follow her out of the dormitories and the common room, flipping off Sirius as I pass him. He gives me a roguish wink, which I ignore. "C'mon, just down here. Careful, we can't be seen. A teacher will give us detention, and a ghost won't really do anything. Watch out for Apollyon Pringle, though. He's the caretaker. Not too bad, but he'll still give you detention."

I grin at Lily. "Trust me. I won't get caught. Ooh, at Beauxbatons, it's ridiculously hard to navigate the castle at night without being caught. I've got loads of practice."

"Can you speak French?" asks Lily abruptly. "I mean, did you have to learn it to go there?"

"It's not required, but I did learn some. My friend Alyss taught me. For instance: Quand j'étais à Beauxbâtons, personne ne m'a vraiment plu. J'étais un étranger. Mon seul ami était Alyss. Je n'ai jamais eu un véritable groupe d'amis, des gens qui comme moi, jusqu'à maintenant. Jusqu'à ... jusqu'à ce que Hogwarts."

"I have exactly no idea what you just said," whispers Lily, laughing. I giggle with her, but quickly stop.

"If you did, you probably wouldn't be laughing."

Lily looks at me curiously. "What do you mean?"

"Nothing." I look away. "Are we almost there?" Lily nods, still looking at me curiously. She points down a narrow hallway. "Just down there. Careful of the barrels. They, uh, spill vinegar on you. It's not very pleasant."

"Um, okay?" I say uncertainly, following her. She stops at a large painting of a fruit bowl and tickles the pear. It squirms, and the painting opens to reveal a large room full of house elves.

"Oh my God…" I whisper, looking about in awe. Lily grins. "Like it, do you? C'mon." She leads me through the miniature army of house-elves, all of which who bow very low.

"Good evening, misses. How may we help you, misses?" they all ask. I stare at them in surprise.

"Hi!" says Lily brightly. "D'you think we could have two flagons of butterbeer and a few chicken wings? Oh, and a loaf of bread would be divine!" The elves rush around, and one scurries through the crowd, holding a platter of food.

"Here you are, misses!" she squeaks, handing it to Lily.

"Thanks a load! I'll see you all later! Bye!" Lily calls as we exit.

"Bye!" I say, waving at the tiny house-elves.

"Goodbye, misses!" they squeak, waving back as the picture closes behind us. I wait as Lily tucks the food carefully into her bag after conjuring a towel to wrap the chicken and bread in. "Brilliant, eh?" she says slyly.

"Definitely. But—why don't they tell anyone you go down there?" I ask.

"Well," says Lily, hoisting her bag further up her shoulder, "they like it, see. When you give them orders. I make sure to thank them, though. I always try to be polite. I wish they'd give themselves a bit a credit. I mean, they're great, house elves. They are! But they think that work and serving their masters or mistresses is the only important thing. It's kind of sad."

"It is," I agree. "But I suppose there isn't really anything we can do. Maybe when we're older, we can start a House-Elf Protection Agency at the Ministry or something!"

Lily grins. "That would be cool. I bet we'd need like a thousand signatures, though. I don't think enough people actually care."

"Oh, well. Are you sure we're going the right way? I don't recognise that painting." I point to a painting of a pony in a field. Lily frowns at it.

"Oh, no! We turned the wrong way! Back, back, back. Down the stairs, come on!" Lily runs down the long staircase, her robes flying behind her. We're making so much noise that I am surprised nobody's come. A few minutes later, we arrive at the portrait of the Fat Lady out of breath, our hair wild. I clutch the stitch in my side, gasping for air.

"Quin—quintessence," Lily says, panting.

"Quite right." The Fat Lady smiles and opens. We enter the crowded common room, careful not to trip over the bottom of her portrait.

"Let's go up to the dormitories," murmurs Lily. I nod my assent, and follow in her wake, weaving among the students. Lily drops her bag and collapses onto her bed with a loud _THUNK!_

"What've you got hidden in your robes that makes that much noise?" I ask, sitting on mine. Lily turns her head to look at me, spitting red hair out of her mouth to talk. "Well, there's my pocket Sneakoscope," she muses, emptying her pockets.

"You've got one of them? I've always wanted one!" I look jealously at the golden instrument. "But…why was it in your robes? Surely you don't just carry it around!"

Lily grins. "I used it tonight 'cos that way I would've known if someone was coming. I don't _normally_ carry it around. I'm not _that_ weird!"

"Well…" I say, laughing. Lily swats at me half-heartedly. "Come on, I'm hungry," she says, handing me a few chicken legs, half the bread, and a flagon of butterbeer. "The feast of kings!"

I roll my eyes at her and clink my bottle against hers. We chat idly while we eat, and eventually Lily starts snoring loudly in the middle of a sentence. I clap a hand over my mouth to stop from giggling, removing the remnants of food with my wand. I pull on my pyjamas and crawl into bed, yawning. When I fall asleep, my dreams are full of floating chicken legs battling with Sneakoscopes.


	4. Rogue Letters, Rogue Bludgers

**A/N: Hey, guys! Thanks for sticking with me thus far. Sorry for any grammar or spelling mistakes. Once I have finished JBCBBD, I will edit and re-edit until the chapters are _très, très mieux. _NOTE: I do not own Harry Potter or anything associated with it. It belongs to Jo and Jo alone! Also, this chapter will not be such a boring one. I will add a bit of action, to spice it up a trifle! (Sorry. I just really like the word trifle) Also, I know this is going to take ages to be put up, but I've been super busy lately, so please excuse me.**

I wake very suddenly to freezing air on my face. I sit bolt upright. Peeves the poltergeist is hovering very close to my face, his cheeks puffed up, blowing as hard as he can.

"PEEEEVES!" I shriek, slapping at him. Peeves cackles, swooping away. I mumble a string of curses after him, but give up after a minute. Sun streams in through the glass window, falling in warm rays across my bed. I stretch and crawl out of my warm four-poster, yawning. I tiptoe to my chest and get dressed. I spot a square of parchment and pause, thinking. I make a decision and grab it, along with a quill and inkwell.

_Dear Mum and Dad,_

_School's great. I'm sorry I haven't written to you in ages. I've been really busy. I've started Quidditch; I'm a Chaser. I've made loads of friends, too. Juli says she loves you. I've only started one new class this year—Ancient Runes. It's loads of fun. I thought about taking Arithmancy, too, but it's supposed to be really difficult and I didn't want to risk being bad at it. Ancient Runes is my best subject, although Potions is probably my favourite. Professor Slughorn is really nice. He told me to say hello. Is it true that Mum was his favourite student? Anyway, I'd better go. I need to get a bit of studying in before breakfast._

_Juniper G. Blasnik_

I blow on the ink to dry it and fold up the piece of parchment, sealing it and signing the address. I stand up, throwing my warm cloak over my shoulders, and walk out of the dormitory. I go down the stairs at a trot. When I arrive in the common room, I am not surprised to find out that it is empty. The fire has died, but there are a few gently smoking embers. I open the portrait of the Fat Lady and wave at her as I pass.

Humming to myself, I make my way to the Owlery, which is at the top of the WestTower. I pass Nearly Headless Nick, who beams and bows at me. "I would advise taking a different route, Madam. Peeves is just down the corridor, waiting for a stray student to pass. His plans include pelting them with chalk and tipping inkwells over their head."

"Thanks, Nick. See you later!" I wave at him and turn down a separate corridor, stopping in front of a tapestry. I lift the edge and slip through after a quick look around. I sneak through the secret passage, bent low. I emerge at the other end, dusty, my back aching from being in the same position for more than a few minutes. I walk up the winding staircase to the top of the tower, looking around for a suitable owl. I call one down, and it obliges, spreading its wings only slightly for the short flight. It lands on my arm and nips gently at me. I smile.

"Here you go, then," I say, tying it on. I stroke the owl's feathers, whispering all the while, "Now, take this to my mum and dad in Surrey, all right?" The owl blinks its amber eyes at me and takes off, flying through the enormous window. I watch it for a while, until it becomes a speck in the sky and vanishes. I make my way to the window, looking out at the vast grounds. The sky is a cool, clear blue, and the only clouds are small and wispy. I frown, however, as I see a small figure below the tower. Squinting, I make out the form of Sirius. I scoff loudly, watching a skinny blonde follow him. Their figures intertwine and I look away, out towards the ForbiddenForest.

I definitely don't want to see Sirius snogging some wimpy little twig.

"Disgusting, isn't it?" says a voice at my shoulder. I let out a loud shriek and cover my mouth. James appears suddenly, removing a silvery cloak from his shoulders. I peer down at the ground. Sirius and his current whore are staring up at the tower, transfixed. I whip out of sight, my curly hair flying. I look at James. His brown eyes are dancing with mirth.

"His usual girl, I see. Too stupid to rub two brain cells together," James says dismissively, looking at the girl for about a second.

"Are you sure she's not being paid, though? I mean, even idiots know Sirius is a jerky snotrag." I lean against the wall of the Owlery as I say this, crossing my long legs and raising a lone eyebrow at James. He grins.

"Well, maybe that's exactly the point. Think about that. I'll see you at breakfast, J." James winks and puts his silvery cloak around his shoulders once more. "You're gonna like this one," he says, grinning. Then he disappears. I let out a shout.

"Oh my—bloody hell," I breathe in an undertone. I walk around the spot where he's disappeared for about a minute. Then I stretch my arm out, as if to take his cloak off. "He's gone," I whisper. My hand catches nothing but air. I grin widely and walk out. _I hope I don't run into him_, I think.

A few minutes later, I am sitting down at the Gryffindor table, inhaling some bacon. I look up, however, when Lily sits next to me. Her fiery hair is braided all down her back, and her green eyes are sparkling with mischief.

"Oi, where've you been? I woke up and you'd left!" she says, whacking my head lightly. I stick my tongue out at her. She grimaces at the sight of my chewed-up food. "You are such a child," Lily says primly. I cross my eyes and resume eating.

Sirius comes in a few minutes later, his hair artfully mussed, his dark eyes roaming the Hall. They rest on me and I quickly look away. Lily is chatting on about something. I try to tune back in, looking politely interested. I see Sirius out of the corner of my eye, deep in conversation with the pretty blonde girl from this morning. The girl is pouting slightly, sticking her chest out as far as she can. I stifle a laugh as Lily talks on.

"So, where were you this morning anyway?" she asks suddenly.

"The Owlery. I was mailing a letter to my parents. I hadn't written them yet, so I figured I might as well. Peeves woke me up really early. And _guess who I saw snogging some girl_?" I whisper the last part. Lily leans closer, looking eager.

"Who?" she whispers.

"Sirius…" I murmur back, barely moving my lips. Lily grins.

"When isn't he off snogging some girl? Know who she is?"

I shake my head. "She looks sort of familiar though. Might be a Hufflepuff…I can't tell, she's not wearing her tie and she's facing the other way…"

Sirius and the girl part ways, the girl looking upset, Sirius unconcerned. He greets James, Remus, and Peter and sits down, wolfing down some eggs. Lily and I follow the girl with our eyes. She sits down at the Hufflepuff table.

"HA!" we yell, high-fiving. I look up. Everyone in the Hall is staring at us. We look at each other, grinning a little.

"Er…that is all," I say loudly, to the general public. At once, people return to whatever they were doing beforehand—reading, homework, eating, chatting. Lily winks at me, and I grin.

"And what was that all about?" murmurs a voice next to me. I jump and look into Remus' smiling face.

"James and I saw Sirius macking on a Hufflepuff girl this morning," I mutter out of the corner of my mouth, barely moving my lips. I hear a low chuckle.

"Flavour of the day. Damn. Sorry, that was rude." Remus looks at me, half-amused, half-ashamed. I roll my eyes at him and continue eating. Out of the corner of my eye, I see Sirius looking over at us curiously. I give him a half-smile and open Intermediate Potions, reading each page carefully. It's grubby and worn, because it was my mother's, but I don't mind.

"I really hope we get to do something fun in Potions," I say to Lily, who nods enthusiastically. Potions is her favourite subject, as well as mine.

"I heard Professor Slughorn saying something about it to Professor McGonagall, but I couldn't understand what they were saying."

"Potions? Who cares about Potions? We need to do something fun!" says James, slouching forward. "Hey, Remus…" he looks meaningfully at Remus, who blanches slightly.

"No. _No_, James."

I look curiously from one to the other. "Why don't we just sneak out?" I ask, leaning over a blurry sentence in my book. I feel everyone's stares on me and look up, slightly embarrassed. "_What_?" I say defensively.

"_You're_ suggesting we sneak out? _You_? Little Miss Perfect? Blimey." James looks surprised and mildly impressed. "Well, then. I say we go for it. Say, about…midnight? All right then. C'mon, Peter, Remus, Sirius. We've got to get some practice in before next week's match. Juniper, you coming?"

"Don't call me Juniper," I growl at him. "It's June or Juni, okay?"

"Okay, _Juniper_," teases James. I half-rise from my seat, glaring daggers at him, and he looks terrified. "Please don't hurt me!"

"All right, see you later. C'mon, Lily, we've got to go to the library." I wink at James, shove my things back into my bag, gesture to Lily, and leave the Great Hall. Lily is chortling, pointing back at James.

"You scared him out of his _wits_," she says, still laughing.

I shrug modestly. "I know."

Lily grins and we make our way through the wide corridors to the library, which is empty except for Madam Pince, the crazy librarian. She stares at us suspiciously, her rather vulture-like appearance enhanced even more by her beaky nose.

"Morning, Madam Pince," I say meekly. She sniffs and turns away, scribbling something on a large piece of parchment.

"Let's go over there," Lily suggests in a whisper, pointing several shelves away. We tiptoe off, glancing over our shoulders every few seconds. I drop my bag onto the wooden table and slump into my chair, yawning widely.

"Well, we're here. I suppose we'd better do the work now," I say, grimacing slightly. Lily grins. We work for a few minutes before someone coughs behind me and I jump about a foot, spilling ink all over my essay. I curse angrily, mopping it up.

"Tergeo," Lily mutters. She looks up and her eyes widen. "Sev! What're you doing here?"

I turn around. A thin, sallow boy with greasy black hair and a hooked nose is looking back at Lily, a small smile curving his thin mouth. "Just thought I'd…come and study."

"Well, thanks for ruining my essay," I say sarcastically, and I roll up the semi-clean parchment, sticking it in my bag. "Got to go, Lily, I told them I'd be there in a bit."

"Er—sorry-" the thin boy started to say.

"It's fine, it's fine. I'll see you later." I rush off, still shoving things in my bag. I deposit my things into the dormitories, and grab my broom instead.

"Hi, Juni!" calls Alice, waving. I smile at her and stop walking.

"Hey, Alice. I'm just going down to the pitch for some Quidditch practice."

"Would it be okay if I came? It's so nice out."

I shrug. "Sure, that's fine. Do you need anything from upstairs?"

Alice shakes her head, jumping up and throwing her bag over her shoulder. "Do you know…er…if anyone else is going to be there?" Alice blushes furiously as she says it. I grin knowingly.

"I'm not sure if Frank's going to be there. I'll get him if you want."

"No-no! That's fine…" Alice blushes an even darker scarlet, smiling sheepishly. I smile at her, pat her arm, and walk over to the other side of the common room.

"Frank, want to come watch the practice?"

Frank looks up. He smiles, but his eyes are on Alice, not me. "Sure…sounds fun. I'll be there in a bit, okay?" I nod and join Alice, who mouths wordlessly at me, a strange croaking sound emitting from her throat.

"There you go. Now, c'mon, Sirius'll go nuts if I'm not there soon."

"_There_ you are!" James' shout reaches me from across the pitch. He's flying about fifty feet up, clutching the Snitch tightly in his right hand. I roll my eyes and mount my broom, kicking off of the grassy ground. Instantly I feel free, diving down and coming up at the last second, swerving around the stands. I catch the quaffle when Sirius throws it to me, streaking across the pitch and throwing it through the middle hoop. I hear muffled cheering and look down, grinning, to see Frank and Alice sitting together.

Remus and Peter are also present; Remus is reading a large book and Peter is cheering James on as he zooms around, chasing the Snitch.

"WATCH OUT, JUNIPER!" Sirius bellows. I look around and see a bludger speeding towards me like a bullet. I stupidly raise my arms to protect my face and hear a sickening crack as my arm breaks. I am vaguely aware of someone with warm, strong arms catching me and bringing me safely to the ground, someone yelling to get Madam Pomfrey, and a girl screaming before I black out.

"Is she going to be okay?"

"She'll be fine, Madam Pomfrey said so. That sure would've been nasty if she hadn't blocked it."

"Shh! She's waking up. Juni?"

I blink and open my eyes. Six anxious faces are peering down at me, their faces slightly blurry. I sit up, rubbing my eyes. "Where am I?"

"The hospital wing," says Remus. His sandy hair falls forward slightly, framing his features. Sirius is grinning down at me, his dark hair curlier than usual. James is messing up his hair, as usual. I guess my survival made him forget to be worried. Alice, Peter, and Frank are all smiling, still looking sort of upset. I grin at them all.

"I like you and all, but…"

"Oh, shut up!" Alice cries, hugging me tight around the middle. "I thought you were dead, you big dummy!"

I pat her back, my arm at an awkward angle. Sirius and James are fighting back laughter at this spectacle, but I make a face at them and they quickly turn away.

"Ow," I say suddenly. Pain is shooting up my left arm. It is wrapped tightly in gauze, but it looks normal, for the most part.

"You'll be fine by tomorrow," says Remus. "Madam Pomfrey said you'd better stay tonight anyway, though. She said it was a really bad break, but she's mended it up well enough. You've got to wear the gauze until next week, so your bones can mend straight."

"Cool. Where's Lily?" I ask, sitting up straighter. I throw the blankets away and start to stand up, but I am pushed back into bed by one of the boys. The doors to the hospital wing bang open and Lily comes bursting through, running and out of breath.

"Oh, my God!" She rushes over and hugs me, knocking the air out of my lungs. "I'm so sorry! Nobody told me until five minutes ago! What happened?"

"Li-ly…geroff…me…" I wheeze, but she ignores me and plows right on, now looking angrily at the surrounding boys. "Did one of you do this? Did you?"

"No!" the angry exclamation comes from both Sirius and James. I gasp for breath, massaging my lungs as Lily loosens her grip and air floods into my lungs.

"Lily…I got hit by a stray bludger. It's not a big deal."

Lily jumps at my voice and looks down. "Yeah, but it could've been! I'm so sorry I wasn't there! You could have died!"

"Sirius warned me, though," I point out gently. "And it's not your fault. I'm fine, Lily." I smile reassuringly and lay back on my pillows. Lily walks around and hits Sirius, who jumps.

"What the hell was that for!" he yelps, rubbing his arm. "She just said she was fine!"

"You could've warned her earlier!" Lily shouts.

"I didn't see it!"

"Uh-huh. Sure."

"SHUT IT!" I bellow. Alice puts her hands over her ears, wincing. Frank smiles slightly. Both Lily and Sirius jump about a foot at the sound of my voice and look over. I breath heavily, trying to steady myself. I get slowly out of bed, grimacing in pain when I move my left arm. "Now, listen here," I say when I get in between Lily and Sirius, "this needs to stop. I'm not going to have any of it. You're both being ridiculous. I. Am. Fine. And Lily, Sirius basically saved my life. I could've gotten much worse than a broken arm, but he warned me. Sirius, stop being such a prat. Now, if you two are going to be good little children, nod your head and say with me: 'I promise to stop being an idiot and listen to Juni who is pretty cool and awesome.'"

"'I promise to stop being an idiot and listen to Juni who is pretty cool and awesome,'" they recite back at me, both rolling their eyes.

"Good. Now, somebody help me back into bed, I think I'm going to black out." I wobble slightly and James and Frank rush forward to catch me. They help me into bed and I pull up the covers, smiling slightly as my vision went black once more.

**A/N: Hey! Sorry it took so long. I know I've been ages, but I worked all this week and I finally got it up to a reasonable length. We got a glimpse of Severus! Also, I think I'm making Juniper left-handed, like me. DYK: Being left-handed used to be a sign of the devil. I'm really glad it isn't anymore…I'll try to update with the fifth chapter in….maybe two-three weeks. Thanks for staying with me! :)**


	5. The Aftermath

**A/N: So this is chapter five, everyone! Thank you so much for sticking with me. I love you all so much! I'm going to put more Severus in this chapter. Also, who was the boy who caught Juni? Remember to review! Thank you for reading.**

* * *

"Oi, Juni. Wake up." The voice is whispering, but it is so loud to my ears. I cover them and turn over.

"Juni, wake up." The voice is more insistent now, but I am tired. I ignore it again.

"Juniper Gwyneth Blasnik, if you don't wake up right this second, I'll make you!"

The shout is like a gunshot to my ears. I wake up instantly, get myself caught in the bedsheets, and fall out of the warm, clean bed. I grunt in pain as my hurt arm is pushed painfully into the ground. The voice's owner comes around and helps me up, dusting off my pyjamas. "Whoops. Sorry about that. You feeling all right?"

I look up at Lily, still grimacing in pain. "Yeah…yeah, I'm just perfect, thanks. Well, now that you've caused me even more pain, I might as well get up."

Lily gives me a half-smile. "Sorry. I'll get your clothes." I lay back in bed, rubbing my aching arm. She rushes back a moment later, my robes spilling over her hands. She helps me put up a partition for changing and I dress, stifling a yawn.

"Come on, you need some breakfast," Lily says, grabbing my uninjured arm and leading me out of the hospital wing. We make our way towards the Great Hall, passing many a student, most of which who wave and murmur their hellos.

"—fell off—"

"—yes, that's what I heard—"

Three Slytherins look up as we move past, staring malevolently at us. We turn the corner and I hear one of them shouting something.

"What did he say?" I ask Lily, whose face is slowly turning red. She jumps a little and her face returns to normal.

"Er, nothing. Let's just go now, please." She leads me away from the group, towards the Great Hall, and breakfast.

"So d'you know who caught you?" Lily asks suddenly, tilting her head towards mine. I shrug.

"I was already starting to black out. I couldn't see very well. I wasn't really paying attention to whom it was; I was more focused on not dying."

"All right, all right! Just wondering. Looked like a bloke with dark hair. Too many of them fit that description to be sure, though. Maybe it was Sirius," Lily muses thoughtfully, before bursting out in guffaws.

I giggle, but it's slightly forced. Maybe it _was_ Sirius. I mean, it's not like he's a bad person, and we've always got on rather well in my opinion. I mean, for all I know it was him, and he's just too much of a sissy to come forward and actually tell me. He always was a prat. I am roused from my reverie by Lily, who loudly announces to the boys—that is, James, Sirius, Remus, and Peter—that I've decided I'm feeling well enough to join them. Sirius snorts at this news.

"You dragged her out of bed, more like," he grunts. Lily raises her hand as if to smack him, but I grab her wrist, yawning.

"You swore," I remind them, sliding onto the bench next to James and letting my head slowly droop onto his shoulder.

"Oi, what've you done to her?" James cries. Lily shrugs.

"She's been in the hospital wing getting her arm fixed, moron. She's tired. Just leave her be, all right?"

I grunt in agreement, dragging my head away and shovelling bacon and eggs onto my plate. Sirius grins.

"Well, I _think_ she's on the mend."

* * *

I find Remus sitting at the base of an old tree. The water of the BlackLake is glittering with sunlight and it's unseasonably warm. I scale the tree—an oak, maybe—in seconds and look down at my friend, feet inches from his sandy hair. "What're you doing out here all by yourself?" I ask, my voice sounding eerily loud.

"Schoolwork. Thinking. Take your pick," he replies, his voice quiet and calm as always. I squint across the water, trying to make out the hills and mountains in the far distance.

"Sounds boring."

"If you're James or Sirius, maybe. I find it soothing." Remus' statement isn't aggressive or defensive. It's just something he says in passing, something you don't take to be an insult. It's just…there.

I make a noise of agreement, stretching my legs out so that my feet rest on a sturdy branch. "So, what's happening in the quiet world of Mr. Remus Lupin?" I ask. I lean my head back and try to find the blue sky amongst the leaves and twigs.

"Schoolwork. Thinking. Take your pick."

"Oi, don't get all sassy with me!" I say, jiggling the branch so that a smattering of leaves fall onto and around Remus. He jumps up, laughing, and attempts to follow me up the tree. I let out a sound halfway between a laugh and a yelp and retreat further up. I feel him tug on my ankle and attempt to pull it away, to no avail.

Remus drags me down to eye level, both of us laughing and panting from exertion. "That's better," he says, smiling. I notice that his eyes, normally a light blue, are dark and flecked with green and grey.

He frowns, catching me staring. "What's wrong?"

I shake myself. "Oh, nothing! Just a tiny bit dizzy, that's all. The view's quite nice from here, don't you think?" I smile, trying to distract him.

"Oh, um, yeah. Very nice. Listen, I'd better head back to the castle. Promised Peter I'd help him with his Charms homework. Bye!" Remus shimmies down the tree, and I detect a slight flush appearing on his pale cheeks. I sigh and relax again, letting the sunlight warm my face.

* * *

"JUNIPER!"

I jolt awake and I know something's wrong. I'm too cold, too frozen, too burning. I can't feel my fingers or my toes and I think I might be in danger of falling. I blink a couple of times and then I scream. I'm on my branch, on the branch that I settled in earlier, but something's gone terribly wrong. Someone is screaming my name and it must be Lily.

"Lily!" I croak, barely eking the sound from my dry throat. She runs toward me.

"Juniper, how the hell did you get up there!?"

I attempt to move my limbs, shivering when I realise that my cloak is missing—probably lying in a heap below the tree. I manage to slowly, slowly inch my way down, quaking with cold. Lily envelopes me in a bone-crushing hug, sobbing hard. "We didn't see you at lunch, but everyone just thought maybe you were at the library. T-then when you didn't show up for dinner, I panicked and Professor McGonagall told me that she would arrange a s-search party, but I—"

I mutter something incoherent to both of us and she jumps. "I'm so sorry! Here."

Lily wraps a warm cloak around my shoulders and the smells of the Great Hall make their way into my nasal passages, making my mouth water. "I'm hungry," I whisper, shivering. She laughs, wiping away the frantic tears that still trickle down her face.

"Let's get you inside, okay?"

She helps me across the frozen grounds which, though soft and dewy this morning, are now covered in the currently falling snow. An array of people are waiting inside—Professors McGonagall, Dumbledore, Slughorn, and Sprout; Sirius, James, Remus, and Peter; Alice and Frank; and, oddly enough, the hook-nosed boy from yesterday. What was his name again? _Sev_?

"There now," Professor McGonagall says, looking extremely relieved. "I'm going to take you up to my office for sandwiches and pumpkin juice, all right? Away from prying eyes."

I nod dully. "Can they come?" I ask, gesturing to Lily, Sirius, James, Remus, and Peter.

After a pause the professor agrees. We all head up to her office, no one making a sound. It is only when she has shut the door and swept off down the corridor when Sirius runs forward and embraces me tightly.

"What're you doing?" I mutter, my voice muffled somewhat by his clothing.

"We thought you were dead, you bleeding idiot," he growls. I try to laugh but it comes out a cough and Sirius releases me.

"Sorry!" I say when I stop coughing. "It seems that I have a tendency to be the damsel in distress. Sucks, to be honest. I'd rather be the dragon."

Lily grins. "What _are_ you talking about, Juni?"

"Isn't it obvious?" I ask, smiling mischievously.

"NO!" the five of them cry in discordant unison. I laugh and pick up a sandwich.

"S'pose you'll just have to be left guessing, then."

* * *

**A/N: Wow. Erm. Sorry about the five-month long wait! I'm an idiot and I am really f***ing terrible with deadlines and the like, so please, ****_please please_**** forgive me. Even though I've been absolutely f***ing horrible to you all and neglected this poor story for about five months.**

**Oops.**


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